CMU School of Computer Science '27
William
Montague
Builder. Researcher. Founder. Shipping AI/ML across biomedicine and roboticsfrom research to production. Incoming SWE @ DoorDash.
About Me
I'm an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, majoring in Artificial Intelligence with minors in Computational Biology and Business Administration. I build things — from startups to ML systems in production. My interest in computational biology goes back to CMU's Pre-College Programin fall 2021, where I first studied the field — a thread I've been pulling on ever since, now focused on generative AI in biomedicine, personalized medicine, and intelligent prosthetics.
As head of engineering/AI at Caboodl, I shipped a RAG-powered mobile app and won $13.5K+ across pitch competitions. At NiSource, I deployed a weather-outage prediction model serving 430K+ customers and presented to the CEO. At the CMU Robotics Institute, I researched human-robot interaction and theory of mind for autonomous systems.
From the South Side of Chicago. Former NCAA sprinter at CMU. When I'm not shipping, you'll find me freestyle rapping, reading, or grinding League.
Relevant Coursework
Technical Skills
Languages
ML & AI
Frameworks
Tools & Platforms
“Be the designer of your world, not merely the consumer of it.”
— James Clear
Experience
Incoming Software Engineering Intern
DoorDash
May 2026 — August 2026
San Francisco, CA
Teaching Assistant, Ethics, Policy Issues & Computing
CMU Software and Societal Systems Department
January 2025 — Present
Pittsburgh, PA
- ›Lead recitations for 40 students, applying ethical frameworks to analyze emerging tech challenges and social impacts.
- ›Conduct targeted 1:1 mentoring sessions to strengthen students' critical writing abilities and ethical reasoning skills.
Machine Learning Engineer Intern
NiSource: Columbia Gas of Ohio
May 2025 — August 2025
Columbus, OH
- ›Designed a weather-outage prediction model using SQL, Python and ensemble methods (XGBoost, deep neural networks, logistic regression, MLP) to analyze patterns across NiSource's 430K+ customers; presented findings to CEO & executives.
- ›Developed monthly PowerBI reports analyzing speech analytics and sentiment data to optimize call center performance.
Human-Robot Interaction Research Assistant
CMU Robotics Institute — HARP Lab
February 2025 — December 2025
Pittsburgh, PA
- ›Modified visualization tools to model second-order theory of mind, enhancing robot-human interaction.
- ›Adapted Python/Flask integration of Bayesian models and HTML interfaces to improve visualization across 30 user trials.
- ›Researched cognitive frameworks for autonomous systems to help robots better predict and respond to human expectations.
Community Data Specialist
Digital Youth Network, Northwestern University
June 2024 — December 2024
Chicago, IL
- ›Analyzed STEM programming data across 680 Chicago schools; built Python/R scraper aggregating 720 community programs for Argonne National Labs.
STEAMbassador
(tiilt) Lab, Northwestern University
June 2023 — August 2023
Chicago, IL
- ›Led workshops for 50 students on block coding and sports hardware using Micro-bits; presented findings to Chicago Vice Mayor.
Projects
Caboodl
Startup · Jan 2026 · McGinnis 3rd PlaceAs head of engineering/AI, won $3.5K + $10K in AWS credits across pitch competitions, secured invitation to University of Michigan VC fair, and joined a CMU startup accelerator whose cohort raised over $1.5M last semester.
Built a full-stack mobile application in Beta on TestFlight featuring personalized beauty product recommendations via RAG pipeline over vectorized TikTok transcripts and Sephora data.
CMR Driverless — RL Systems
Sep 2025Pioneering DAgger-SAC hybrid bootstrapping autonomous racing from MPPI expert to reduce sample complexity.
Implementing curriculum learning and dynamics-based reward shaping for high-speed continuous control on Carnegie Mellon Racing's driverless vehicle.
Social group budgeting app that treats spending as a shared experience — because no one wants to say they can't afford to make plans. Won 2nd Place in the TartanHacks Visa Challenge.
Built a social group budgeting app that treats spending as a shared experience. The app allows users to create groups, track expenses, and split costs among members. Won 2nd Place in the TartanHacks Visa Challenge.
A cryptarithm solver using Forward Checking + MRV heuristic with a custom deployed XGBoost model to check solvability.
Built a web application that solves cryptarithm puzzles using classical AI search techniques (Forward Checking + Minimum Remaining Values heuristic) and a custom deployed XGBoost model to predict solvability. The application scrapes puzzle data from various sources and provides step-by-step solutions with explanations.
Led backend architecture for a sports learning Python app that secured 60 signups and advanced to the second round of a graduate-level McGinnis Venture Competition.
Scraped ESPN live data using BeautifulSoup, Regex and Postman to generate OpenAI-powered MLB learning modules. Conducted 60+ stakeholder interviews, including Pittsburgh Pirates' Director of Entertainment, to inform development.
Leadership & Involvement
SCS Student Advisory Council
Executive Board Member
- ›Committed 6-8 hours weekly leading day-to-day operations, mentoring newer board members, and working directly with Deans and Program Advisors to organize initiatives and events for 1,000+ SCS students.
- ›Collaborated with administration on policy changes to reduce Dean's list pressure and expand diversity recruitment in SCS.
ColorStack
President
- ›Dedicated 4-5 hours weekly managing 9-person executive board and acquired NVIDIA sponsorship while coordinating events with corporate partners including Bloomberg.
- ›Initiated SCS funding partnership for StackedUp Summit attendance and organized 4+ collaborative events with Black student organizations to increase CS engagement.
Awards & Honors
- •CMU Innovation Scholar (top 12/80 most entrepreneurial students)
- •SCS Leadership Seminar (14/500+ invited)
- •McGinnis Venture Competition 3rd Place
- •TartanHacks Visa Challenge 2nd Place
Additional Roles
- •Vice President — Sigma Epsilon Phi (Entrepreneurship Fraternity)
- •Student Course Instructor
- •Former NCAA Athlete (Track & Field)
Affiliations
- •Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (NPHC)
- •MLT (Management Leadership for Tomorrow)
- •CodePath
- •NSBE